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Battlestars in the Original Series

The original series battlestars served primarily as starfightercarriers. The actual number of Viper fighters carried isn't clear. The hangars were in the pilons to the port and starboard sides of the main hull.

In addition to fighter squadrons, a battlestar has beam weapons in twin turrets distributed around the hull. They seem to serve primarily as defenses against fighter attack. The ship also carries heavy missiles of some type that can destroy Cylonbasestars with a few direct hits.

The speed of a battlestar isn't clear. They are clearly capable of undertaking interstellar journeys in a reasonably short time, but their method of FTL propulsion was never stated. Combat speeds appear to be entirely sublight, although the captain of the Pegasus once boasted that he would try to "bring it up to lightspeed" to execute a flanking maneuver against a Cylon attack.

Battlestars in Neo Battlestar Galactica

As in the original series, a battlestar serves primarily as a starfighter carrier. The ship also has nuclear missiles and railguns for directly engaging Cylon capital ships. A battlestar is also capable of producing an obscene amount of point defense fire.